Thursday, August 25, 2016

I'm pretty sure that puppies, including adult puppies ("dogs") like Reilly, pray. I've, for example, asked Reilly and Camille to pray however puppies can pray. I also have a minhag katan leli of taking some anointing oil and modifying the "Birkat HaKohanim" with "Yevarekakh Yehovah v'yishmerekakh"—Reilly is, after all, a girl, and a bark-mitzvah whom seems to get the purpose of being anointed as she lets me anoint her, waits patiently as I pray the blessing, and sniffs in the air as the scent of the oil goes up to Heaven.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

To get married on Shabbat is actually a nice idea. Marriage represent G-d's covenant with Israel. So does Shabbat--e.g., the day of rest. As someone who married on a Yom Shabbat opined, "I was married on a Saturday evening in summer, just at the beginning of sunset. We wanted to honor Shabbat, and so we did Havdalah first. Our officiant was very traditional and expressed his qualms about starting before sundown. Ultimately, we did the cocktail hour first and pushed the ceremony back as late as we could, and he acquiesced. It wasn't fully dark yet, but it felt like a respectful, if not fully halachic, compromise on both sides. I think that for less observant (or non-observant Jews), that kind of conversation and creativity is more important than observing strict halachic rules and missing the beauty and richness of the tradition, but then again, I'm not frum. For what it's worth, it was the most "Jewish" wedding that I or any of my guests had ever attended. Everyone told me how beautiful and moving it was, and many of our guests asked numerous questions about the traditions, rituals, and prayers they had encountered."Besides, where in Tanakh can one read that one can't marry on Shabbat--let alone enter into marital contracts on Shabbat or write on Shabbat? Furthermore, the Bride of Yeshua, Heaven as Eternal Shabbat...shalom!

Monday, May 27, 2013

I know this because I'm well read enough and have delved enough into my own family history. Shiva can be sat when:

A child or other relatives intermarries (This happened to the late Ruth McBride Jordan, nee Rachel Deborah Shilsky [Ruchel Dwajra Zylska] when she was even just in a relationship with Dennis McBride.). This normally doesn't happen if a child marries solely a "shvartze"--as the Yiddish pejorative was thrown about back then. This happens if a child marries any gentile who doesn't convert or is not accepted for conversion into Judaism.

A child or other relative acts so despicably that the circumstances play out as if he or she is dead, would rather be dead, or would be better off as such.

A child or other relative is in circumstances in he or she is dead, would rather be dead, or would be better off as such. For example, a child who is inevitably going to die of terminal cancer and not be miraculously healed may have shiva sat for him ot her early on.

Shiva can always be reversed for the living. For example, Ruth McBride Jordan did get back in touch with one of her cousins who she hadn't seen in years and who was in California. Even relatives who had sat shiva for her (viz. her aunts Mary and Bernadette) had contact with her, even though that contact was telling her that they sat shiva for her and she was to stay out of their lives (which Mary did)--as well as slamming the door in her face when she reached out to them for help (which Bernadette did).

In my own family's case, I have been in touch with Rusnak relatives before. Also, the Czerneckis did write to us once to ask for the deed to be changed. Shiva will also be reversed for Aunt Mary if she ever reaches out to me again (See #3 to give you an idea of what she did. All that I'll say is that, that took hutzpah to cut me off without at least telling me why she would--at least Ruth McBride Jordan's aunt Mary told her that she cut her off and gave her a hint as to why she did.).

Shiva cannot be reversed for the dead (unless they of course miraculously rise again).